A digital book, which is also known as an electronic book or an e-book, is the digital media equivalent of a conventional printed book. Typically, digital books are structured as virtual frames presented on a display device. During a reading session a user may turn or change from one virtual frame or “page” to another. Advantageously, the “pages” are not fixed permanently, and may be redefined or repaginated based on variances in display conditions, such as screen size, font type or size, margins, line spacing, resolution, etc.
Conveniently, digital books may be read on personal computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), smart phones, etc., or on dedicated hardware devices known as e-book readers or e-book devices. Another convenience that is associated with digital books is the ability to purchase and download, or download and store, a reading selection directly from a digital library or commercial site. Some e-book readers, such as for instance Amazon's Kindle 2, use a 3G wireless network to allow the user to download digital books directly to the device, even if a Wi-Fi hotspot is not available. Other devices that can be “repurposed” for reading digital books, such as for instance Apple's IPod Touch, achieve similar functionality using a local wireless network connection.
Digital books currently offer several advantages over conventional printed books. For instance: text can be searched automatically and cross-referenced using hyperlinks; font size and font type can be customized; non-permanent highlighting and annotation is supported; animated images or multimedia clips are supported; reading can resume automatically at the last read page, etc. In addition, a single e-book reader containing the text of several digital books is easier to carry around than the same books in printed form. Furthermore, the backlit display of an e-book reader allows reading in low light, or even in total darkness.
Of course, lending libraries of digital books are known. For instance, many public libraries currently allow registered patrons to borrow digital books via a library webpage. In this type of system the patron typically borrows a digital book from the lending library for a predetermined finite period of time, such as for instance 21 days, after which time the digital book is returned automatically to the digital book lending library. In practice, the digital book is made available for being displayed to the patron during the predetermined finite period of time, such as for instance via an electronic device that is associated with the patron. Once the predetermined finite period of time has elapsed the digital book is no longer accessible using the electronic device, unless of course the patron “renews” the loan. Advantageously, digital libraries offer their patrons the convenience of being able to borrow digital books at any time, usually twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week, without having to ever enter a physical branch of the library. In addition, patrons do not need to be concerned about incurring late return fees, since the digital books are returned automatically at the end of the loan period.
A digital book lending library also shares some features in common with traditional bricks-and-mortar libraries. For example, when one patron is using a license that is associated with a digital book, then that digital book is not available for being loaned to any other patron until after it has been “returned.” Instead, when another patron requests the digital book they may be offered the option of placing a “hold” on the requested digital book. At some later time the patron that placed the hold is notified that the requested digital book has become available, at which time that patron either may “check-out” the digital book or release the hold if they no longer require the digital book. It is therefore a disadvantage that digital book lending libraries currently offer only a limited number of copies of each digital book for being loaned during any particular period of time. The need to place a “hold” when a requested digital book is unavailable diminishes the convenience that is normally associated with digital book lending libraries, and may cause patrons simply to forgo reading certain digital books. Furthermore, it is a disadvantage that a patron may not be able to renew the loan of a digital book if another patron has placed a “hold.” In particular, the digital book may be returned automatically at the end of a current loan period, even if the patron has not finished reading the book. In this case, the patron either must wait until the book becomes available again or simply miss reading the rest of the book.
It would be advantageous to provide a system and method that overcomes at least some of the above-mentioned limitations of the prior art.